She Brought Us Together
by RoryJessfan7
Summary: What if when Jess left Rory was Pregnant? And he only came back once but never found out? He comes back for the Luke and Lorelai's wedding, and runs into his daughter. What will happen when he finds out she's his? Better then it sounds. Please review!
1. Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Lori

(A/N! IMPORTANT!! Rory still went to Yale, but she never went on the campaign trail. Luke and Lorelai are still engaged, Luke knows about April and told Lorelai, set after the seventh season)

Watching the road pass by him, he started to think back to when he was younger. Back to the time when he had every fool in that town out for his head, with Lorelai as their leader, as he returned that same town.

Still unable to believe he was back there, again and knowing she would be there. It was her mother's wedding; of course he would to run into her, seeing as it is inevitable.

He had grown up, and so had Rory, he was I his late twenties and he still felt something for his high school sweetheart, it was crazy.

Every time he asked himself why he still had feeling for her, he would think about her eyes. Such a deep, endless blue, he thought he could drowned in them; thinking it was okay, knowing she would save him.

Jess hadn't seen her sense when? Nine years ago maybe? When he told her he loved her? She didn't respond, well if you count running away from him after he said it responding, then yah, she did that.

He noticed something different about her, but it was probably that she was going to collage, getting experienced. He still cringed when he thought of her with another man.

Slowing down as he reached the town and its twelve mile per hour speed limit, he looked around. Nothing much had changed; same crazy people, same crazy town.

He couldn't help but notice some of the looks the mental town's folk were giving him. Jess knew it would be weird, him returning. He was sure the Star's Hollow Gazette was already working on which mug shot they wanted to use for the front page, spreading the news of his arrival. But couldn't they stare at him behind his back, so he didn't have to watch.

Shaking these thoughts of his head, he pulled up the diner and parked the car. Opening the door and stepping out, he looking into the diner window he saw a girl around the age of ten taking orders. 'That must be Luke's kid', Jess thought, walking in.

Watching the kid move behind the counter, he walked up and took a seat on a stool.

"Can I get you something?" she asked.

"Huh? No thanks could you just tell me where Luke is?" Jess asked not calling him her dad, just incase it wasn't Luke's kid, April? Right wasn't her name? Luke told him on the phone, but he hadn't paid attention.

"Umm… your going to have to wait a minute, he just stepped out." Said the girl.

"Oh, okay, thanks." He said smiling at her, then turned to face the diner.

He didn't know why but he felt like he knew this kid or something, it was strange.

"Hay, kid, is your name April?" Jess asked, looking back at her.

"What? No, that's Luke's daughter, she's not here either. Does Luke owe you money or something?"

"No why?"

"Just because, your asking a lot of questions for someone I've never seen around here, and I've lived her my whole life." The girl told him, her blue eyes twinkling.

Blue.

The last him he had seen eyes like that they had belonged to…her.

"Hay who are your-" he was about to ask who the girls parents were, but just them Luke came in.

"Hay Luke." The girl behind Jess said.

"Hay Lori, what are you doing here?" Luke asked, referring to Jess.

"You told me to come and that's the welcome I get? I'm touched Uncle Luke."

"Uncle? Wait your related to him?" Lori asked.

"Yah I'm his-" The man in plaid cut Jess off.

"Jess, I think you should go upstairs. Now." Luke ordered.

"Why" Jess asked

"Because I said so." he scolded him.

"Yes sir." Jess said, smirking.

"Hay, Lori, can you handle thing down here? I got to talk to him." Said the Luke, pointing up the stairs.

"Sure thing Uncle Luke." Lori said smiling

Luke went up the stairs where Jess had disappeared and opened the door to the small apartment.

"Okay, who was that?" Jess asked, skipping to the question he had been wonder sense she said she wasn't Luke's kid.

"No one." Luke answered.

"What you aren't going to tell me? Is she like and escaped convict or something?" Jess asked his uncle.

"No and I don't want you talking to her." He said

"What?" the younger one of the two said.

"You heard me, you're not deaf, and although one could argue the way you blast that music." Luke said.

"Yah, yah, why can't I talk to that kid again, I must have missed it." Jess said sarcastically.

"Because I said so, and stay away from her while you're here too." He told his nephew.

"Who?" Jess stated.

"You know who I mean." Luke said.

"Yah, I hear yah." Jess said flopping down on his old bed, thinking of Rory and that magical night they had, all those years ago.


	2. Fighting Parents

Disclaimer: I do not own and characters except Lori, I think.

"Hello. Mom, Gram, are you guys home?" Lori shouted when she walked through Lorelai's door.

Receiving no answer she decided to watch 'Almost famous', a move her mother hated with a passion.

Popping the DVD in she sat on the couch; squirming around to get comfortable. Feeling the need for coffee and burger's from the ever popular Luke's she decided to call over to the diner.

"Luke's." she heard a man answer on the other end.

"Who is this?" Lori asked them.

"Why? Who's calling?" the person demanded.

"This is Luke's… uh… niece". Lori told him, not quite sure how to put it. He could be her grandfather if you thought about it. Her Grandmother married Luke when she around the age of six. They were engaged before then, but they broke up before the ceremony. But on the other hand she knew her father was Luke's nephew, she that classified her as a niece, besides the fact that she called him Uncle before her Grandmother stared seeing him.

"That can't be; Luke's only niece is seven." The person pointed out.

"Do you mean Dula?" she ask, _who is this guy? _She thought; _some stalker of Luke? Besides Kirk I can't think of anyone who would find the need to follow Luke around town in a ninja get up with a ski mask. _

"Yah, I guess. Can I help you?" he asked confusion in his voice.

"Is Luke there?" Lori asked the strange man.

"He left a little while ago but I think he's at the Inn if it's important. Did you call to order something or just play twenty questions with his employees?" the person questioned her.

"Actually I was just-" the man cut her off.

"Hold on a sec" he told her, Lori then heard him call for Luke who must have just walked in the door. There was some static then Luke's voice came on.

"Hello?" Luke said into the phone.

"Hey Luke Mom isn't here to night and I was thinking about pulling a hermit kind of thing and I was wondering if you could bring me by some supplies?" Lori asked him over the phone.

"Sure, the usual Gil- uh… unhealthy amount of food that all the latest healthy guides say will take ten years off your life?" he said, stopping before he could say Gilmore; noticing Jess listening in.

"Of course, and you know me. I got the Gilmore stomach that everything and everyone envies, and it will only be five years Luke", Lori said flipping her smooth black hair.

"Oh, well I feel much better now. I'll be over with it in thirty minutes." Luke told her.

"Wait Luke!" she shouted before he hung up the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Who was that who answered the phone earlier?" she asked him.

Luke stopped and looked over to where Jess was arguing with Kirk over a ten cent increase on the price of his burger.

"Listen; I go to go Caesar just screwed up someone's order and I have to take care of it." Luke said hastily.

"Okay Uncle Luke…" Lori said to the phone and hung it up when she heard the dial tone.

-Luke's-

The phone hit the receiver and Luke wrote Lori's name down on a sheet of paper and handed it to Caesar, knowing he would under stand and figure out what to make.

"Who was that?" Jess asked coming behind Luke making him jump.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he asked his nephew.

"Possibly." He said, still waiting for his answer.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Have I grown a second head I don't know about?" Luke said while tucking a pencil behind is ear.

"I'll ask again seeing as you became deaf for the three seconds it took me to ask you that question." Jess said, "Who was that on the phone?"

"Just a person", Luke said.

"No really? I could have sworn it was an elf." Jess said sarcastically.

"It was no one; okay?" he said.

"Why won't you tell me who it was? They sounded pretty young, you having an affair with a kid again Luke?" Jess asked him.

"I've never had an affair with a kid, don't plan to, and it's none of you business who that was." Luke told him.

"Was it that girl from earlier? The one I can't see?" Jess questioned Luke.

"No." Luke said.

"Ahh. So it was her, who is her? A kid you meet off the streets then took in and forced her to work in the dinner for no pay? Is she your bed warmer because that's against the law my friend and I will not hold back on calling Coop." Jess said raising his voice, not noticing people beginning to stare.

"Hey! Watch what you say about her! You know nothing about her or her family. So I wouldn't go making assumptions if I were you. If you knew the whole story… well let's just say this would be a whole lot different!" Luke shouted making everyone who wasn't staring begin to stare.

"Then tell me!" Jess shouted back.

"Tell you what?" Luke asked.

"The whole story; I want to know it all." Jess said to him waving his arms around dramatically.

"I can't!" he shouted at his young nephew.

"Why not?!" Jess said, still neither of them noticed the eyes glued to them.

"I promised someone." Luke said calming down a little.

"Who Luke? Who?" he asked.

"I can't tell you, damn it Jess." Luke said.

"Why can't you tell me who you promised?" Jess asked his uncle.

"Go upstairs Jess!" Luke barked at him.

"No, you can't tell me what to do or where to go." Jess said bluntly, sounding like a four year old.

"Yes I can!" Luke shouted, again.

"I don't live here, I'm fully grown and you can't make me do anything I don't want to do anymore." Jess told him.

Being so caught up the spat they were having neither of them heard the bell ring above the diner's door, and neither of them saw a women around twenty-eight enter the diner.

She stood watching the scene play out before her, eyes focused on the younger of the two.

Just seeing him, standing there, made her heart beat faster, and her face turn warm and red. The girl's breath caught in her throat, she was frozen in place. Knowing she should run, scream, slap the face of the boy, man, that was arguing with Luke, but she didn't.

Jess's back was facing the girl, making him unable to see her. However, Luke had a clear shot at her when he looked up and locked eyes with her.

Luke froze, eyes still staring behind Jess.

"Hello, I'm trying to fight with you here!" Jess told him, waving a hand in front his uncle's face.

He turned to see where Luke was staring and his eyes widened when he was her.

"Rory?" Jess said, not trusting his eyes; believing it was all a dream.

His voice shook her from her trance and her brain began to function again.

"I'm leaving." She said, turning around and walking out of the diner.

"Rory, wait!" Jess called after her, catching the door before it could close, following her out into the street.

Rory quickened her step and began to run, with Jess doing the same.

"Rory stop! We look like idiots." He said to her.

"I don't care!" she said with no emotion.

"We've done this before!" He shouted to her and she began to slow down until she came to a complete stop.

"I know, and if you tell me you love me and run away again let me say I will not be surprised." Rory said to him.

"We need to talk." Jess said.

"We have nothing to talk about." Se told him while trying to steady her breathing.

"Yes we do!" he said.

"Like what?" Rory ask. "Like how you leave me ten years ago and say nothing about it? Or how you come back one year later, tell me you love me then leave with out waiting for my reply? Maybe the thought never crossed your mind Jess but you hurt me. And yes, I am aware of how childish and lame that sounds but I don't care, I really don't anymore! About anything!" she said and began to walk away again; he followed.

"Of course I thought about that Rory, did you really think I was that stupid?" he asked.

"Maybe." She said, not stopping.

"It hurt me too, and I was scared Rory! I didn't know how you would take it." Jess said.

She whipped around to face him; her abrupt stop took him by surprise almost causing them to collide.

"_You_ were scared Jess?! You have no clue about the mess you left behind. I was scared that I would have to face it alone; I didn't think my mother would help me! I cried every night for three months, and you weren't there, and you were supposed to be!" Rory shouted at him, tears running down her face.

"Face what alone?" Jess said puzzled.

"But you know what? I'm tired of waiting, and I'm done pinning for you. I'm going to walk away now, and please do not follow me." She said her voice had changed from screaming to barely above a whisper.

"Rory…" Jess said, unsure if he wanted to continue.

"I have to go, Lori's waiting for me." Rory said.

"Who?" Jess asked.

Rory squeezed her eyes shut, realizing what she just said to him, but instead of answering him she turned around and walked home, ignoring the regretful feeling in the pit of her stomach.


	3. Black Hair Doesn't Run in the Family

Disclaimer: I own Lori that is all I have the right to say is mine…

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"Lori, mommy's home!" Rory shouted to her daughter as she entered the house.

"Hey, I thought you had to work late tonight?" she questioned.

"Nope I'm all yours for the night." She said.

"Well that certainly calls for a 'Dirty'." Lori said, sounding much like Lorelai.

"Your ten years old; you really shouldn't be saying things like that." Rory scolded her child.

"Well then you shouldn't have let Gram watch me when I was younger. She can be a very bad influence on little children." She said, smirking.

Rory let out a breath and shook her head, "What am I going to do with you?"

"You can lock up for being a smart ass and then dump the key down the garbage disposal. But then Uncle Luke will have to come and pull it out because Gram needed to use it for her disgusting cake that she is bound to make. And while he is here I will be screaming so loud that he will break down the door and set me free." Lori said all on one breath.

"Watch you mouth, I don't need you swearing. And if you don't stop being such a wise ass I _will_ lock you up, or on second thought I'll send you to live with your great grandparents, that should teach you a lesson." Rory told her with an evil smile.

"You're mean." Lori said pouting.

"I try child, I try" Rory said getting up to pick up the phone and bring it back along with a handful of take out menus.

"So what do you want for dinner tonight? Indian food, my mother is at the Inn all night so that gives us plenty of time to burn down the house." she said rifling through some of the choices.

"I kind of already ordered from Luke's" she told her mother.

"Oh, well should we go with the China Doll then, we can make it into a movie night?" Rory asked suggestively.

"Done! But a movie night with out Grandma? She invented movie night, it would be wrong without her." Lori pointed out.

"Mmmhmm… you're right, would I do without you daughter?" Rory asked.

"Fall off the face of the earth." She said, not missing a beat.

"So we watch Friends instead?" Rory asked.

"But of course mother dearest." Lori said.

"And stop being such a smart Alec; you are starting to sound like your father." Rory said, stopping dead as soon as she realized what she said.

They never talked much about Lori's father. All she knew was that he left before she was born, and that he was Luke's nephew. Her family and friends never talked about him or even mentioned his name. Lori has never known her grandmother on her father's side, she wasn't even sure if she had one. It was hard for her to watch all her friends grow up with moms and dads when she doesn't even know what her father looks like.

When she was younger, Lori could remember asking her mother if her dad was ever coming, not wanting to lie to her only child Rory would tell her "I don't think so sweetie." People would sometimes slip up and say things about him, things like, "You look so much like you father." "She has _his_ temper." Lori knew she got her hair from her dad; no one else in her family had jet black hair. Her Gram would tell her, "Wipe the smirk off your face, you look just like J-" but people would stop before they ever said his name.

"Mom…" Lori said when she saw tears in her mother's eyes.

"Mom are you okay?" Lori asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine hon", Rory said wiping her eyes and taking a breath to calm her nerves.

"Mom… am I ever going to know about my father?" Lori asked her, looking down at her hands not wanting to watch her mother's emotional battle.

"Lori, don't go there…" Rory warned.

"Why not?" She asked her mother; standing up.

"Because." Was the only answer she received.

"Because why mom? Why can't I know about my father, the person who helped bring me into the world? Don't I disserve to know?" Lori asked, feeling tears start to form.

"Lori stop okay!? I do this for your own protection." Rory said, feeling her own tears making it hard to see.

"How is this protecting me? Unless he is a serial killer, rapist, or druggy I don't need protection from him!" she shouted at her mother.

"You don't get it do you? He hurt me Lori, and I don't want you to get hurt either, that's why I'm doing this. I know you don't understand now but you will later." Rory said with tears now running down her face.

"God mom, can't you tell me? I won't kill you just to tell me about him I have a right to know about the second half of my DNA." She said to her mother with her voice waving.

"Then go to a science lab." Rory said.

"You know your father and-" she was cut of by the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"That's my food." Lori said waving her hand toward the door.

"Perfect timing." The older of the two said huffing over to the door.

"We are not done talking about this mother." She sneered.

"Don't make threats you can't keep girl." Rory said coldly.

Opening the door Rory was taken back. She stood there with the door hanging open along with her mouth; her eyes had that deer-in-the-headlights look to them.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked the person.

"Luke was out and the order was ready so Caesar had me bring it over." He said shifting the heavy box in his hands.

"Well… thanks… I guess." Rory said moving to take the box out of his arms but he pulled back.

"A 'hurt' thing like yourself shouldn't be lifting heavy items, so I'll just bring it in." he told her, saying hurt with not emotion showing.

"No, Jess you can't-" but it was too late; he was already walking into the living room where Lori was sitting on the couch.

Rory followed him in, not sure how well this would go over. Seeing her; Jess walking and set the box on the coffee table.

"So, diner girl we meet again." He says to her.

"Hello…" Lori said looking at him strangely.

"Wait, you two have met?" Rory asked shocked.

"When I arrived in this insane asylum you call a town she was in the diner, we chatted, but for some reason Luke told me to stay away from you. Do you have any idea why?" Jess asked her.

"No, why would he do that?" she answered truthfully.

"Huh, I don't know, maybe your friend knows why?" Jess said, directing his question toward Rory.

"Oh, she's not my friend, well she is but she's also my mom, my very stubborn mom." Lori said giving Rory a withering stare.

"What?!" Jess practically shouted.

"Jess I think you should go." Rory said quickly grabbing his arm and dragging him to the door.

"No." he said shaking her off and walking back to Lori sitting puzzled on the couch.

"Jess you really have to go." She said trying to get him out again.

"Who is it Rory?" He asked.

"Who is what?" Rory said confused.

"Her father Rory, who is this kids father?" Jess asked again, pointing to Lori.

"Yeah mom; who is my dad?" Lori jumped in.

Rory looked back and forth between the two, landing her eyes on Lori, who had a pleading look on her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She said.

"What? That's not an answer." Jess told her.

Rory said nothing more, except, "Look at her hair Jess; it holds all the answers you need." Before walking out the door leaving the two in the living room to watch the door slowly close behind her.

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Thanks for all the reviews keep them coming and tell me what you think of it so far.


	4. Why Do We Hurt Each Other?

Disclaimer: Lori and the ideas I have for this story are all mine, everything else; I have no ownership over.

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(Recap)

Rory said nothing more, except, "Look at her hair Jess; it holds all the answers you need." Before walking out the door leaving the two in the living room to watch the door slowly close behind her.

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Jess moved his gaze over to the kid sitting on the couch in front of him.

Looking up at him Lori quickly saw where her dark curly locks came from; if this really was her father.

"So... I guess it's you; isn't it?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I guess so." he said with a shaky voice.

"Okay..." Said Lori; nodding her head looking down at her hands resting in her lap.

"So I guess I should talk to your mother, shouldn't I?" Jess asked her.

"I suppose you should." she said quietly. Both of them feeling a very award vibe in the air.

Jess stood up putting his hands in his pockets; he looked around the house not seeing that it changed much sense the last time he was there.

Sighing he began walking toward the door "Uh... see you around kid." he said opening the door.

"See yah..." Lori said, not sure if she wanted to say something more.

Taking one last look at her Jess stepped out the door, pulling it behind him.

"Wait!" She called after him before the door closed fully.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Do you like Hemingway?" she asked.

"Who doesn't?" he said to her.

"My mother", Lori said with a slight smile

"Some things never change", he said shaking his head while standing holding the door open.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"Yeah, guess it is; just..." she trailed off.

"What?" Jess said.

"Go get her tiger." Lori said nodding her head toward the door.

"Thanks." he said

"It was... nice to meet you; does that sound too forma, considering?" Lori said tilting her head to the left.

"Nope, just formal enough. I guess I should really go find your mother."

"Yeah. She's probably at the bridge." Lori said.

"I figured as much. I'm not very good with this small talk thing, but do you think we can... I don't know; talk sometime?" Jess asked her.

"As long as your not a serial killer I don't see why not." Lori said to the man standing in the door way.

"Okay." Jess said smiling; it was one of those rare genuine Jess smiles that he never let anyone but _her_ see.

Lori smiled back as he waved his hand and nodded his head toward her before he walked out the door.

Turning back around to face the television Lori let herself slid further down the back of the couch; closing her eyes, putting her pointer and middle fingers on her right and left temples rubbing small circles around them.

_Oh my god. _She kept repeating to herself.

_Oh. My. God. _

-With Jess-

Walking through the territory Jess made his way to the bridge.

Looking out to the water seeing it ripple with the current of the wind, he shifted his gaze to bridge.

His mind floated back to the days she and himself had spent on the bridge. Reading, kissing, talking, making out; it was where he saw her after Dean broke up with her at the dance, it was where they had a picnic with food provided by a stomach churning basket he out bid Dean for. Then more making out.

There she was, sitting, on the bridge just as he expected. Her feet dangling over the edge looking into the water just like after the dance marathon.

Slowly making his way over to her depressed form; walking on to the bridge he heard it creak under his weight.

"One call." he said to her.

"What?" Rory asked from her seated position.

"One call was all it took Rory." Jess said to her.

"I know", she said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest; not making any movement to lok at her.

"Why didn't you tell me I would have-" he said before she cut him off.

"You would have what Jess? Come back, I highly doubt that, and even if you did come back how do I know you wouldn't have just left when things got rough? Because that's what you always do Jess, you leave and you end up hurting me and I didn't want that to happen to her." Rory said, recalling the conversation she had with her daughter moments before.

"I wouldn't have left my kid Rory, I wouldn't have become my father." he told her.

"How do I know? My father left me all the time, even when he said it would be different. And how I do know you would change, you sure didn't the second time you came back." she said to him feeling tears coming into her eyes.

"You would have had to trust me." he told her.

"Well that is a very difficult thing to do when all you know how to do is get hurt Jess." Rory told him, beginning to shout.

"And when I came back nine years ago to tell you I loved you what did you do? You ran Rory. I know it wouldn't have been the best time to tell me about her but you could have; at least I would have know that I had a daughter walking around out there. I could have helped." Jess yelled at her.

"I didn't need or want your help! And I also didn't want you coming back for her, well I did, but I wanted you to come because you wanted to come back, for me, not because you felt obligated." Rory said standing up to face him.

"Well then that is your fault, not mine. And Luke what about him? You told him and every other person in this nut job town not to tell me, real mature Rory; freezing out the father of your child. What about her, your- excuse me, our daughter? She had no idea who I was, you never even told her my name did you? Unbelievable." Jess said shaking his head.

"I already told you Jess, I didn't want her to get hurt and as for the town-" he cut her off.

"Didn't want her to get hurt? Rory open your eyes. You are doing more hurting by not telling her; I just met her and I can tell that." Jess said furious.

"She has a name you know, Lori, her name is Lori. If you think your such a good father why not trying to call your kid by her name?"

"I never said I thought I was a good father, how would I know? I never got the chance to try!" Jess said throwing his hands up in the air.

"Because you left Jess! If you had stayed you would have gotten to know Lori, you never explained why you left you just did but Luke filled me in, thanks for telling my by the way!" she shouted at him tears running down her face.

_God I hate it when she cries, _he thought. "You never called! Rory we are going in a complete circle, we were just through this!" Jess told her, putting his hands in hair and gripping it in his fists.

"Go to hell!" Rory shouted before storming off the bridge.

"Right back at yah!" he shouted after her, watching her back become farther and farther away from him.

Jess sat down on the bridge and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Lighting it he stuck it in his mouth and inhaled. Remembering the last time he did that on his bridge.

Eleventh grade; they had just gotten in a car crash. It seems like every time he hurts her he ends up on this bridge, smoking.

_Why do we hurt each other so much? _Jess thought to himself.


	5. A Fight and a Break Down

Disclaimer: I don't own the concept of Gilmore Girls but I do have the right to say that my ideas are ALL mine… I hope.

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Lori's POV

_Oh. My. God._

That man, the one that just walked out the door a few minutes ago, was my father. Jess… wow. That person standing in my house a blink of an eye ago was the second half of my DNA. Jess… wait…what was that guy's last name again?

Crap I didn't even ask him for his last name. So I finally meet my father, Jess something or other and I don't even know his last name. All I know is fact that he likes Hemmingway and has the same hair has me.

But after that I'm out.

All the kids that I know could do an hour seminar on their father's lives, but my story would only consist of a few sentences. Wow, some great daughter I am.

The thing that confuses me the most is that it seemed like he had no clue I existed after all these years. I would have thought my mother had the guts to tell him he was a father, I mean she had enough time. And I always thought that was why he left us, not being ready or being chicken, but I guess that wasn't the case. He had no clue I existed so I can't really blame him.

He seemed like a pretty decent guy, a little rough around the edges, but you can always work with that. I often pictured my father as this man locked in a jail cell for committing a huge offense, like murder. I envisioned him with long think black hair down to his shoulder's and a weeks worth of five O'clock shadow on his face. An orange jumpsuit covering his tattoos and a book stashed under his cot.

In my dreams he struck me as a man with a soft underside and a bad record, which is what my Uncle said every time I tried to ask him about Jess. But almost all the people I asked, Miss Patty, told me was that he was the kind that looks like he would leave a child. But when I tried to think of the kind of man who would leave a kid, my grandfather came into my mind, Christopher. Only meeting him a few times when I was young I could never understand why everyone hated him so much, until my Grandmother told me.

She has said he was the reason my other would cry every time I asked to go see him. He had left my mom too many times to count and every time he promised he came back he said he had changed. Gram explained to me that this was the reason we never saw him; because it hurt too much. It was also part of the reason mom didn't want me to meet my father, she didn't want me to get hurt, and neither did Gram.

_So why did he do it?_ I often wondered. Why did he leave my mother and I; without even knowing he had a child to scare him off? _Maybe he was forced to leave_, I thought to myself. This town was full of forceful individuals.

So deep in my thoughts I never heard the door open until it was closed, the slamming sound made me jump, shaking me from my trance.

Pulling myself up, I peer over the back of my Grandmother's old couch, that I was probably conceived on, and saw my mother, sitting with her back to the door and knees to her chest, tears streaming down her face.

I quickly got up and rushed to her side, my mind forgetting any details of the fight we had moments before Jess came through the door.

All I knew was that at that moment my mother was broken and helpless, lying now, on the floor in a ball. And she needed me.

I rarely saw her like this. The last time she saw like this was when she got a phone call from her father telling her he needed to cancel plans they had made for the next day, again.

Kneeling down next to her I pull her up so her head is no longer on the floor and it was now leaning against my shoulder. Wrapping my arm around her I hugged her while we rocked back and forth.

"It's going to be okay. Mom… shhh." I tell her soothingly.

Another sob racks her body and she shakes even more, putting her arms around me and hugging me back.

"It's alright, I'm here." I say knowing this is why I was put here, on this planet; I'm not trying to sound corny. She needed me more then ever after he left the first time, she needs me while he is here messing with her life and coming into mine for the first time. And she will need me when Jess- my father, leaves again, which I have a feeling he will.

-Jess's POV-

Storming into Luke's after smoking at the bridge I ignore the looks the nosy town people give me and walk up to Luke who is arguing with Lorelai about something or another.

"I need to talk to you." I tell him anger dripping from my voice.

"In a second Jess." He tells me waving me away with the back of his hand, making my blood pressure rise into the danger zone.

"No, now." I tell him more forcefully.

He turns to look at me while setting his notepad down and sticking his pencil in his ear.

"What is it Jess." He asks.

Without giving it a second thought I grab him by his flannel and drag him into the back room; Luke protesting the whole way.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked giving me a clueless look.

"You should know!" I shouted at him.

"Oh really, I should? And why in God's name should I know the motives you have for dragging me into my supply closet? If it was a make out session you were looking for I'm gonna have to pass on that one." He tells me.

"You're babbling. And why the hell didn't you tell me?!?!" I shouted at him; from his look, taking him by surprise.

"Why didn't I tell you what?" he asked. _Nice try Luke, but playing coy isn't going to get you anywhere_, I thought to myself.

"You know." I tell him agitated.

"No I don't." he said giving me a look.

"Lori, Luke! Why didn't you tell me about her? I would have thought you of all people would have had the consideration to call me!" I shouted at him, his face changing from shock to anger in three seconds flat, a new record for him.

"Well maybe if you had stuck around you would have been told." He shouted.

"That was kind of difficult seeing as you threw me out!" I stated matter-of-factly.

"I didn't throw you out you got yourself thrown out." He said.

"Ahh, nice spin, you should work for Clinton." I tell him, revising it from the last time I said it.

"It's true Jess, and you know it is. I thought you had changed, but your just the jackass eighteen year old you were ten years ago when you left her, ever think of growing up?" Luke exploded on me. And that hit me, hard.

"I have changed Luke, and I can prove it by being there for this kid, and what's with everyone making assumptions. I'm not a bad guy Luke, you know, I know it and Rory knows it." I said, my voice raising more in volume then I ever thought possible.

"But Lori doesn't." Luke stated making me sigh in exasperation over the circle I kept getting into with different people over this topic.

"Yes, I realize that! But all I'm saying is that I'm want to try to get to know my own kid. Is that a crime? Luke you make act like you don't care and you don't understand but I know you do. The same thing happened to you and your kid." I tell him poking a finger into his chest; knowing I've hit a sore spot by the look on his face.

"Leave me out of this Jess; it's about you, Rory and Lori. Stop blaming other's for your mistakes and face the music."

"Give it a rest Doctor Phil."

"Just drop it Jess." Luke said.

"Is it so hard to believe that I won't leave? Because I have no intention of leaving this time." I say to him and he looks at me with disbelief.

"Where have I heard that before? Umm…let me think… oh yeah, I remember now. It was every single time you came back, begging for a second chance, that's why it sounded so familiar." He said, sarcasm dripping from his every word.

"I'm done with this Luke." I said turning around I hear shout, "That's right Jess, just keep running away like always." As I walk out of the storage room and into a deathly silent diner with Lorelai and everyone else looking at me.

"And what the hell are you all looking at? God doesn't this town know when it butt out and mind its own business?" I screamed at them before pulling the sheet back and walking upstairs; slamming the apartment door shut behind me.


	6. I Need to Talk to You

Disclaimer: I own Lori and everything she stands for, everything else belongs to the creators.

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A high pitched ringing noise filled the air of Lori's bedroom.

Grumbling, she lifted her hand to smack the snooze button on the annoying alarm clock. Bringing her arm back down to the warmth of her bed, she proceeds to fall back asleep.

In her sleep she feels the end of the bed near her feet sag downward with added weight.

"Rise and shine daughter of mine!" Rory rhymes to Lori's seemingly life less form.

"Die." She tells her mother, a frown appearing on her once peaceful face.

"Now that wasn't very nice. I have about seventy more years left in me so you're gonna have to put up with me for a very long time." Rory tells her.

"Die twice." Lori said to her overly perky mother while she pulled the blankets over her head, shutting out the evil light seeping through the windows.

Rory gets off the bed and walks to where Lori's head is, grabbing the sheets with her hands; she yanks them off the bed, pulling them from her daughter's grasp.

Lori grumbles something and wraps her arms around her upper torso desperately trying to keep the warm in, not opening her eyes.

"Cold." She says.

"I know honey. But the sooner you get up the sooner you have coffee and a hot shower. And the sooner that happens the sooner we get your bride's maid dress fitted, and after we can help your Gram with other fun wedding stuff." Rory said to her ticked off daughter, while at the same with shaking her say she mumbles some more.

Sighing, Lori opened her eyes and slowly sat up. While squinting her blue eyes to adjust to the light, she pulled a thin hair tie off her wrist and used in attempt tame her wild black hair.

Getting off the bed and looking at her wide awake mother she rolled her eyes and said "Why are you up so earlier? You _never_ wake up this early, much less this happy. What happened, did you get lucky last night after I fell asleep?"

"No. And you do realize that if Luke hears his angel talking like that he will blame your Grandmother." She said to her daughter who was now walking into the bathroom.

"And Gram will just blame you saying that you should have never let her watch me while you went off to Yale. And that it took years off her life because I never went to sleep." She said through the closed bathroom door.

"You always say that." Rory told her standing next to the door.

"And it's always true." Lori told as she took off her clothes and turned on the water; clicking on her "The Clash" CD.

"What are you doing in there?" she shouted to Lori over the music.

"You can't be serious?" said her daughter while rolled her eyes at hearing the question.

"All right then, hurry up, we have a busy day and you know your grandmother gets cranky when you leave her sitting in the living room alone for to long."

"I'll be ten minutes." She said taking the shampoo bottle and shaking it until the soap at the bottom came to the nozzle.

"As was your conception." Rory told her before walking out of her daughter's room and downstairs to Lorelai who was shouting about being alone and unloved.

-At the Bridal Shop-

After swinging by Luke's to pick up April the four girls arrived at the shop and Lori and April were getting fitted by a woman with poorly dyed blond hair, way too much lip color and had a pack-and-a-half-a-day cough. She was wearing old jeans and a puke colored green shirt with an old apron on over it.

When the woman turned her back April looked over at Lori who was trying to pick up her dress that was two sizes too long for her.

April gave her a wide eyed look and did a pretend cigarette to her mouth. Lori widened her own eyes and nodded her head before returning to her dress problem, something Lorelai was not happy with.

Lorelai had spent the first ten minutes arguing with the woman over the fact that the dress was too long to even properly fit a professional basketball player, let alone a ten year old.

"It was a strapless red dress with sparkles going down the left side and a embroidered coffee cup on the left side of her stomach, requested by Lorelai of course. It wasn't on of those drop dead ugly bride's maid's dresses you normally saw. This one was tolerable.

When woman came back she had some pinking shears and a pack of 'Marlboros' sticking out of her back pocket.

Once she re-measured Lori she began to cut the fabric while Rory watched from a distance through her fingers in fear the woman's hands would be shaky from smoking and cut into her daughter's skin.

"Why couldn't you just let me make the dress?" Lorelai whispered into her ear from her spot a few feet away. "I was going to but you said, '_No mom, it's your wedding you shouldn't have to make your own dresses, let's get a professional_'; that went to hell. And let me tell you, if that dress isn't fixed before the little hand is on the 'S' and the big hand is on the 'OON' I will strangle her with her own tongue."

"If she cuts my kid I'm right there with yah." Rory said to her in a whisper.

"This dress better be perfect after all the money I have to pay for the tailoring." She said crossing her arms over her chest, not moving her eyes from the lady with the shape object kneeling by her granddaughter.

"Maybe you should make your own dress mom. I mean, if she can screw up Lori's dress like this, who knows what she can do to a wedding gown?" The middle Gilmore girl said to her mother.

"Thank you. This is exactly what I was trying to prevent. I mean this woman doesn't know how to sew a note let alone a dress. After Lori's, April's and your dresses are done all three of you can eat ice cream while watching me make my wedding dress, while at the same time bragging to my face that I have to look perfect for the big day and can't eat any ice cream." Lorelai said both of their eyes glued to the woman _still_ cutting the length of the dress.

"We would never do that, maybe with fries, but never ice cream, we're way to nice for that." Rory informed her mother.

"Well it's nice to know I'm loved." Lorelai said before the lip stick lady came over to give her the bill.

"That'll be two hundred and fifty dollars." She said in a nasally voice, Lorelai spotting a tongue piercing in the center of her pink tongue.

"What?! Two hundred and fifty dollars for a mistake you made?" she screamed at the woman.

"Read the sign sweetie." She told them before scrunching up her nose, snatching Lorelai's credit card from her hand and walking over to the counter.

Rory and Lorelai looked at the sign hanging in above the front desk.

'_Peggy's is not held responsible for any sizing problems. All changing for sizing will be charged to our account. If you have an issue with this, get out_.' It read.

"Well that's great business." Rory whispered to her mother.

"And let me say this, if Lori ever pierces her tongue there will be hell to pay." Lorelai said shivering at the thought.

"That would be Jess's rebellious genes rearing their ugly head, because it should wouldn't be mine." She said looking over to the dressing room where Lori was changing behind the curtain.

"True, although they might be mine…" Lorelai said slyly.

-At Luke's-

"I swear to god Luke, she had it out for me. Now, be a good husband to-be and go over there and kick her ass." Lorelai shouted to Luke while he took everyone's order.

"Peggy did not have it out for you. She's just… misunderstood." He told her.

"That's a joke, the only reason she needed that money so she could buy more of those cancer sticks!" she told him.

"Well then let the woman be, she has a problem, and I don't need my fiancé getting thrown in jail for beating up a seamstress." He told Lorelai.

"I can see the cover now, 'Mother/Grandmother/ fiancé suspected for the mysterious disappearance of beloved Peggy Slatsworth.'" Lori said, putting her hands up for dramatic effect.

"Beloved? Ha! That's a joke, that woman was probably never laid a day in her life." Lorelai said, causing Luke to shout at her.

"Hey! Kid over here!" he pointed to Lori.

"It's okay Luke; I'm very worldly now; Gram has made sure of that." She said with one of her father's smirks.

"Lorelai!" Luke shouted at her.

"What I did nothing! That kid must be listening in on my phone calls." She replied.

"Sure…So, where's Rory?" Luke said swiftly changing the subject.

"She didn't come in fear of running into you know who." Lorelai said pointing upstairs.

"Ohh." Was all he said. He had guessed something happened between them from the way Jess had taken out his anger on him yesterday.

Speaking of the devil, Jess came thudding down the stairs at that moment wearing his Metallica T-shirt his hair mused back.

Looking around the diner he saw them all looking back at him, but his eyes landed on Lori who was staring strait at him with a very pissed look, coffee in her hand.

Setting the cup down and standing up she walked over to the man she now knew was her father; the whole diner getting quieter wit each step she took.

"I need to talk to you, upstairs", she added looking around at the wide eyed people of the town who were trying prying into their lives.

"What?" He asked.

"You hear me." She said giving him an icy stare.

"Sure…umm lets… talk." He said hesitantly

Jess pulled back the curtain for her and let her go first up the stairs her nose held high. He followed her, letting the sheet fall behind him as did.

"Dun, dun, dun." Lorelai said cupping her hand like a microphone, causing Luke to shoot her a look before tending to the customers.


	7. Explanations and Appearances

Disclaimer: My ideas are mine. Lori is mine. Other characters are not mine.

Sorry I haven't updated in forever.

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Lori walked into Luke's apartment, swinging the door open with such a force she almost cracked the glass in the window, with Jess following close behind.

Jess had to quicken his strides just to keep up with the fast pace of his daughter.

He closed the door behind him as he entered and she sharply turned around to face him, giving Jess a terrifying look that could give Emily Gilmore a run for her money.

Lori's chest heaved with anger and she pointed and accusing finger at him before speaking.

"What did you do to her?" she screamed at him, her black hair whipping around in her face.

"What did I do to who?" Jess asked, completely shocked that such a small person could make such a bone chilling noise.

"You know damn well who." She cursed at him.

"You are ten years old and already swearing, I'll have to congratulate Lorelai on that one." He smirked at her knowing Rory and Luke would never allow her do that.

"Don't act cute you home wrecker." She shot at him, her cold eyes never leaving his.

"I'm not acting." Jess told her walking around the room, knowing he was getting to her.

"I'm talking about my mother Jess, what did you do to her on that bridge?" Lori asked getting very pissed at his lack of cooperation.

"I didn't do anything to her. Wait, did she get hurt, what happened? Am I going to have to kick Dean's ass again?" Jess asked becoming concerned with Rory's safety.

"You happened Jess, you did the hurting. And now my mother is at home, crying and eating a pint of rocky road, all because of you!" His daughter told him with a hurt expression painted across her face.

"I did nothing. She's the one that stormed off; she's the one who told me to go to hell." Jess told her, with dark chocolate stone cold eyes.

"Did you say it back?" she replied quickly.

"What?"

"Did you say it back to her?" Lori asked. Her eyes were a deathly icy blue, lips in a thin unmoving line, hair hung in front of her face.

"What does that matter?" Jess asked.

"It matters because she's my best friend and you hurt her and I demand to know what you did." She took a step closer to him, jeans swishing together.

"You sound just like her. Creepy." He told her.

"I know I sound like her, I've been told that my whole life. I've also known that I always thought my father would come back, but I never expected it would be like this. I just met you five minutes ago and I can already tell why everyone in town hates you." she said stepping on a pressure point.

"Do you know why everyone in this wacky town hates me?" He asked her in a monotone.

"Yes I do as a matter of fact; it's because you left mom and I ten years ago. It's as simple as that" she tells him flatly.

"That's exactly what she wants you to think. I never left your mother, well I did but-" he was quickly cut off.

"But nothing, you left and that's that, you just admitted it." Lori said to him.

"Hey listen kid, as I was trying to say-" Jess was cut off by Lori, again.

"I have a name you know." She said pointing to herself.

"Sorry, Lori. If you would just listen to my side of the story maybe you can see where I'm coming from. But if you don't you have all the right to scream at me and even decapitate me. Just please, hear me out." Jess asked, practically begging.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Lori leaned on one leg and looked him over like a parent approving someone their child dated. "Okay. But if I don't like your story you are out of here." she said and took a seat at Luke's table.

"Thank you." he said, cracking a small smile as he felt a huge weight life from his shoulders but at the same time a bigger one was set on them.

Jess sat down at the table across from Lori and began to tell her his story.

"Okay, where to start…" he said clicking his knuckles on the table.

"Why not the beginning." She said matter-of-factly. "I mean you don't have to go all the way back to the night you were born…but…" she attempted to lighten the mood.

"Okay, but I'll tell you this on one condition." He told her.

"You're not really in the position to be making deals James Dean." Lori told him.

"Haahaa, very funny. I wasn't trying to make a deal, just propose one. God you're very stubborn aren't you?" he said, running a hand through his hair.

"Yes I am, people say I get it from my father." She looked up at him and he stared down at his hands ignoring what she said. "So… what is your condition?" she asked quickly recovering from the silence that had begun to overtake them.

"You tell me about your life, all the things a _father_ should know about his kid." He said this time looking her in the eye as she stared dumbly.

"Al-alright." Lori stuttered. "I guess that would be okay."

"Really?" he asked making sure he heard correctly.

"Really." She said smiling.

"Okay so… let the games begin." Jess said sitting up strait in the chair.

"Let the games begin." His daughter repeated after him like a little kid playing shadow.

"To start off the real reason I left Stars Hollow wasn't because of your mother, it was because Luke." He told her slowly easing her into the flash back he had many times before.

"I thought you liked Luke?" she questioned.

"I do, and please don't interrupt this is hard enough without playing twenty questions." Jess hold her and Lori nodded.

"Luke told me I had to two options, school or… well that was it. I was failing senior year and I had to repeat it or not graduate. So… I told Luke I wasn't going back to school, which didn't go over to well on my half." Jess sighed and continued on.

"He told me I had to leave; now I normally would have gone back to New York where my flake of a mother lived. But before that, my father had to show up, so trust me ki- Lori, I know what it feels like to have your dad show up out of the blue." He caught himself before he called her "kid". She only nodded her head again and let him go on.

"The when Uncle Luke kindly kick me out I thought it was the perfect time to visit my father who I haven't seen sense thy day I was born. All the way out in California. The fact that the West coast was all the way on the other side of the country, far away from your mother, was also a perk." At this Lori spoke up.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well seeing as I failed High School I couldn't get prom tickets." "Ahh" Lori said and he shot her and amused look.

"And I felt horrible about it, it had been your mother's dream to go to the Stars Hollow High prom with her friend Lane, and I screwed it all up for her." Jess said sadly.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Did…umm… did mom ever call you, after you left I mean?" Lori asked feeling stupider by the second for asking such a thing.

"No. But I called her." Lori jumped up in her seat and looked over to meet her Jess's coffee brown eyes.

"When? What happened?" she questioned getting excited.

"Calm down turbo, I'm getting there."

"I'm sorry master." Lori said as she did a fake bow complete with arm raises.

Jess chuckled at this and continued with his story, "It was at her graduation and-" the door to the apartment swung open hard like before, this time hitting the wall even harder then Lori had made it earlier. The sound of this made Lori's head shoot up.

"Mom." Lori gasped.

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Thanks for all the reviews so far, keep them coming!


	8. Jess Wins

Disclaimer: Gilmore is not mine, as sad as that maybe

Disclaimer: Gilmore is not mine, as sad as that maybe.

Sorry this hasn't been updated in forever!

-- -- -- --

"Rory." Jess stated.

Even after all these years she still was cutest when she was mad; and right now she was fuming.

Her blue eyes blazed icy spears into his skull and Jess could count eight different shades of red creeping onto her face. She looked beautifully dangerous; liked a mother bear ready to protect her cub from some viscous hunter that would bring harm to her child.

"Lori will you go help your grandfather down stairs?" Rory asked, never taking her eyes off of Jess.

"Fine! But if you kill him I won't hesitate to turn you into the police." Lori mumbled to her mother as she stalked out of the apartment.

_She's kidding…right?_ Jess thought to himself.

As soon as she was sure Lori was out of ear shot Rory turned to Jess and unleashed her rage on him.

Poor guy.

"What the hell was going on here Jess?" she screamed at him; taking in his piecing chocolate brown eyes and tense body. He still looked just as hot when he was mad and still didn't have enough sense to throw out that stupid leather jacket.

_Wow, now is really not the time to think that_, Rory thought to herself.

"Nothing really, just telling my daughter about my life; seeing as you didn't. What were you thinking Ror? That not telling her would make it so I never existed? Cause let me tell you that I've know about her for only a few days and even I can tell that she wanted to know her father."

That hurt Rory and he knew it. In the few days he spent here so far Jess had quickly learned he was a sore spot when it came to Rory and _their_ daughter. But that didn't stop him from his rant.

"And I have a feeling that she would have found me one day, with or without your help; she's the spitting image of you, very independent." Jess yelled back at her.

He stood from the chair he was sitting and walked across into the small living room, turning to face Rory.

"Well I guess I'll take that as a complement." She spit back at him as she followed into the room.

"Let me tell you this, Jess, and I let me tell you this only once, stay away from her. You know nothing about her and you won't help her, you never do." She threatened bitterly.

Jess knew that much was right, he never did help anything. But he quickly shook that thought off.

"Are you seriously telling me I can't be around my own daughter?" Jess asked, tilting his head to the side a little; like he used to. _Same old Jess_, she thought.

"Yes that is exactly what I am telling you." Rory said not wanting to look at him much longer she turned to leave the apartment, feeling this conversation was over.

"Why" Jess questioned her in his monosyllabic way, stopping her from leaving. Even though he already had a pretty good idea as to why.

"Because." Was Rory's very intelligent response as she stopped in her tracks not bothering to turn around and look at him. _At least she stopped_, he thought

"In all the years I've known you words have never failed you, they seemed to be never ending at times and now you can't even tell me why I can't see my own child? You've changed Rory, the Rory I knew would have something much more witty to say" Jess told her, she turned around and gave him her withering stare but he seemed unfazed.

"Well you always did have a way of making it harder for me think." She knew that this was the wrong time to say that but she didn't care what Jess thought anymore. Right?

_I make it hard for her to think?_ Jess thought. This gave him an odd feeling that he hadn't felt in years, but what ever it was he liked it.

But then he was shaken from his thoughts by Rory's clear soft voice.

"I'm afraid she's going to get hurt the same way I was." Rory said to him, not bothering to hide the hurt in her voice.

Jess heard it, loud and clear. _That pain is there because of you, idioit! You caused that hurt. _It killed him that he hurt her. But he shook that off not missing a beat.

"You already told me this! More than once!" He didn't mean to shout but that's just how it came out. What the hell was it with the circle he kept getting thrown into? These conversations were all the same!

"Why don't you grow up and just let me get to know Lori. Are you afraid that she actually might like me and you're afraid you'll lose her; because I've seen you two, and you won't lose her, Ror. But if you're doing all this just so you can hurt me, it's working." He sounded pained, and she could hear it.

Jess almost never admitted when he was weak, she realized. Hiding behind a tough exterior was how he based a good portion of his teen years and he still had a hard time with showing his soft side.

Rory had nothing to say and for a moment the apartment was silent and only the sound of their breathing could be heard.

Thoughts raced around in their heads.

_Could I possibly still love him after all the pain he put me through?_

_I still love her._

Rory had found her voice and broke the silence soon after. "I did grow up Jess, I grow up the second that stick turned pink." Without another word she walked pass Jess and over to the door, pulling it open.

Before she left Rory gave him what he wanted, he had won. "This whole town will be watching you; I just hope you've grown up too. Don't screw it up, please." It sounded almost as if she was begging, like she actually wanted this to work, or at least some small part of her did.

With that Rory Gilmore left the doorway and walked down the stairs into the diner where half the town as sitting quietly, listening to the screaming match going on above there heads.

"And what the hell are all of you doing? I've seen corpses look more alive then all of you!! Get on with your lives', shows over!"

Her scream from the diner could be heard by Jess standing in the same spot she had left him in.

He smiled to himself and shook his head.

"There's my Rory." He whispered to the air.

-- -- --

Let me just say I'm so so so so sorry I haven't updated in forever!! Please don't hate me. I'll try to keep up on updates in the near future and I'm very sorry for the long wait.

Please enjoy and tell me what you think!


	9. The Start of Something?

Disclaimer: I own Lori, nothing else, all that goes to the Palladinos

Disclaimer: I own Lori, nothing else, all that goes to the Palladinos

(A/N, this takes place a few days after Jess Wins)

-- -- --

Lori was dancing around an empty house to the sound of 'The Clash' blasting in the background.

She was in her own world.

When her mother and grandmother were out at work and she was home alone, Lori would relax and clear her head by giving everyone on the block a migraine. Music seemed the only comfort she had at times. It expressed her every thought and feeling, and she hoped to make a living out of it one day.

She had twenty songs in a note book and another ten in her head. Luke often joked that there wasn't room for anything else; but that was okay with her.

Her alone time came to an abrupt stop when the sound of someone screaming and banging on the front door somehow over powered her music.

Sighing, Lori switched off her ihome and slowly made her way through the train wreck of a house, thanks to her, to the door where the visitor was still pounding the crap out of the poor thing.

"All right I'm coming, jeez Louise, could you not take your anger out on my door?" she asked, checking herself in the mirror to make sure she was presentable.

The person on the other side stopped while Lori was finishing fixing the part in her silky black hair and rolled her eyes.

She pulled open the door to reveal a laid back, pretty normal-looking Jess.

He was wearing faded blue jeans with an old Metallica T-shirt; mouse piled on by the gallons in his hair and a clean shave to pull it all together.

Not exactly what someone pictures their father in, but at least it was better than an orange jumpsuit.

"Hey", he said as coolly as he could. This was their first really conversation, or at least, was going to be if he didn't screw it up, he wanted to make a good impression. _You want her to like you, remember that_, Jess scolded himself.

"Hey, what's up?" Lori asked, holding on to the door with one hand so she could lean against it without falling to the ground.

"Nothing, I just came to… I'm not sure how to put this…bond? No…umm…" Jess trailed off, holding his chin thoughtfully and Lori picked up for him.

"Jess, it's okay, I get it. Why don't you come in and we can talk." She told him, stepping aside so he could enter.

"Uh, thanks." Jess said while walking in.

"You know, Lori, you seem very mature for your age." He said smiling. Not that he had any part of that; God knows he wasn't even that mature when he was seventeen.

"Thank you. Growing up with Lorelai and my mother causes people to mature very quickly; you have to just to be able to understand what they are saying." Lori said with great fondness.

Jess could tell she really loved them and wondered if she ever missed not having a dad when she was a kid.

"Did… did you ever, I don't know… regret not having me around when you were younger?" Jess asked her kind of slowly, afraid of the answer. Did she hate him for not being there, but then again, it wasn't entirely his fault.

"Of coarse I did." Lori told him sincerely, he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and became slightly less tense.

"I mean what kind of kid doesn't wish their dad was around?" She continued, "Although I have no regrets about being raised by my mother and Gram, they were great. They taught me how to talk, walk, ride a bike, and how to crack dirty jokes all by the age of eight." She said with a small chuckle. "Luke taught me how to cook when I was big enough to hold the spoon, and Patty and Babette had me singing before I could make full sentences. The whole town practically raised me." Jess frowned at this.

This whole nutty town helped raise his kid and he didn't even know about her until ten years later. They probably knew her inside out and he knew basically nothing. What did she want to be when she was older, who were her friends, what about her grades? Did she inherit Rory's love for school? He sure hoped so.

Jess was so lost in his thoughts he hadn't even noticed the awkward silence between them until he looked up to see Lori staring at her black Converse.

Deciding now was a good time to find out some of these answers Jess started questioning her.

"So… do you have any idea what you what to do when you get out of high school?" _If she makes it out_. _You better hope she didn't get your failure-to finish-anything gene that seems to run so strongly in the Mariono blood line. _Jess told himself bitterly. That would kill Rory, and he knew it, if she didn't make it out of high school.

"Yeah, I do actually. I know it's kind of weird to have your heart set on something so young, but it's some kind of a dream my mother and I have been thinking about sense I was old enough to talk." Lori looked down shyly, thinking she must sound stupid to this guy who she barely knew.

"No, it's not weird at all. If I had some goal set in my head when I was younger I probably would be a lot better off then I am now." Jess admitted to his daughter. And it was true, maybe he would be better off.

"So, what's the big dream?" he pressed; interested in knowing more about her.

"Okay, just promise you won't laugh because every girl has this dream at some point in their lives and only like twenty percent actually get there." She asked him, truly afraid he would laugh and through it back in her face.

"I promise; well unless you want to be a princess and marry a prince because that, I'm sorry my dear, is very unlikely to happen." He said trying to lighten the mood.

Lori laughed and shook her head, blue eyes sparkling along with her smile. "No, that's defiantly not it." She told him, glad he was trying to lift the awkwardness.

"I want to be a song writer slash singer. I've always loved music, so something in the music department would be fine with me as well." She told him with a shrug of her shoulders and a flip of her dark hair.

"Really? That's cool, and from what I've heard you have great taste in music." Jess said, referring to when he almost became deaf over 'Guns of Brixton' when he first arrived here earlier.

Lori smiled. "Why thank you. It's good to have someone tell you can do something." She told him as he just looked at her in silence.

"You really are light years ahead for your age, kid, try to slow down a little." He told her.

Jess had just met her and she seemed full grown already, like she didn't need to be raised… like she didn't need him.

_But she does_, he reminded himself.

"I'll try but I really can't guaranty it." Lori told him lightly as she shifted her weight on her end of the couch, seeing as Jess took up the other end.

"You really are your mother's daughter you know that?" Jess asked her as he looked over her facial features.

Lori defiantly had Rory's eyes and nose. Looking closer he noticed she also had Rory's mouth and jaw structure. But her olive skin was almost an exact replica of his own and her hair coloring was all his doing as well.

From her personality Jess could tell she had Rory's smarts and drive to go for what ever she wanted. The stubbornness he had seen earlier was a contributing factor from both parents though, as was her love of books. He wasn't exactly sure where she got the singing from, Rory and himself both love to write. But that was okay, the kid should have something of her own.

Lori's voice shook him from his thoughts and brought him back to the conversation they were having.

"I'm yours too you know." She said softly, so softy he almost couldn't hear her. She had a sad smile on her face as she peered up at him through a curtain of hair.

"I know you are." He replied almost as softly. They looked at each other for a moment before the front door opened.

Breaking their gaze, they both looked up to see Rory coming through the door carrying a good amount of shopping bags and a box from Luke's.

She looked up at them and smiled, setting down her things as Jess stood from the couch; rather quickly.

"Hey Jess. What brings you here?" she asked, with no hostility or anger in her voice, just her pure sweet Rory voice that had once made him weak at the knees and his heart skip a beat.

_It still does, who are you kidding?_ He asked himself, never taking his eyes off hers.

"Jess just came over to talk, mom." Lori said, slightly annoyed that her mother had to come in on there "bonding" as Jess called it.

"Yeah, and I should probably get going, see if Luke needs any help." He said starting to head for the door, walking around the mess Lori had made earlier.

"No don't go." Lori's voice stopped him from leaving. He didn't want to disappoint her, or leave her, but he really didn't think Rory wanted him there.

"I gotta, sorry kid." He told her, reaching over to ruffle her hair. "But hey, how about you and I go see a movie tomorrow?" He asked, moving to the doorway. He didn't want to buy her off, but he didn't want her to get upset with him. He was already getting attached to her and he cared what she thought of him.

"Okay, sounds like a plan!" she said, excited that he wasn't going to just run off and have her not hear from him for another ten years.

"I work at the diner tomorrow so we can sort out the details there, you will be there, right Jess?" she asked, checking he wasn't going to off doing best-man-type things for Luke.

"Yeah I'll be floating around." He informed her as she leaned over the back of the couch, arms dangling and her hair falling in her face.

"Okay, see you then." She said cheerfully.

He gave her a quick smile and a small wave, headed out the door, closing it behind him.

Meanwhile Rory had been standing in the corner with a thoughtful expression on her face while chewed her bottom lip. Her arms were down at her sides as she just stared at the floor.

"Jess wait!" she yelled to him before the door clicked shut.

It reopened and Jess stuck he head in. "Yeah?" he asked her, losing himself in her deep sea blue eyes.

_I'll probably regret this later…_ Rory thought.

"Would you like to stay for dinner? I got enough food for twelve and my mom's working late tonight so it's just Lori and I; so we have enough to spare." She asked with a small hopeful smile.

_Your doing this for Lori, that's it, it's not because he still looks as hot as he did ten years ago and you are currently single… that has nothing to do with it at all._ She quickly told herself, but not entirely believing it.

"Yeah Jess that would be great!" Lori said bouncing in place on the couch.

"We'll… I guess Luke is okay, just for one night, if he really needs me he can probably guess where I am so…" he trailed off. Damn it, how could he possibly say no to two Lorelai's? He's not that strong.

"Yay! This is going to be great!" shouted Lori, throwing her fists up in the air.

Rory just walked over to the couch with the take out box in her arms.

"Come on Jess, we don't bite." Lori said to her father that was still standing in the open doorway.

Sighing Jess just shook his head and shut the door, walking over to the couch and sitting on the left of Lori who was between himself and her mother.

Grabbing a fist full of fries Jess began to eat while his daughter and he fought with Rory about wanting to watch Almost Famous.

_Could this be the start of something?_

-- --

Aww Rory and Jess share a thought!

Thank you for all the reviews and keep them coming!!


	10. Visitors from the Past

Disclaimer: Most people have cute disclaimers, ok so

(A/N. sorry this took so long to update, I was having writers block the whole time.)

Disclaimer: Most people have cute disclaimers, ok so... puppies, kittens, Joe Jonas... I own none of these, much like I don't own Gilmore. Blah, blah, blah…

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"Okay, so where to next, kid? I'm yours for the day." Jess asked Lori as they exited the Black, White and Red movie theater and started walking to an unknown destination.

"Um... I don't know. Why don't we head back to Luke's and get something to eat." She suggested as she led them down Plum Street toward the diner.

"How can you be hungry? You just ate your weight in popcorn and milk duds, washing it all down with two green slushies." Jess enquired her, shocked there was still room for any food.

Lori stopped in her tracks, Jess kept going.

It took him a few moments to realize she wasn't following looking back he noticed her standing in the middle of the street.

She was staring at him with wide eyes, jaw agape and hair falling in her face.

"What the hell are looking at me like that for?" Jess asked his daughter has he walked back to where she was glued to the ground.

"I can not believe you would say that! After all the time you spent with my mother and grandmother you should be accustomed to the Gilmore eating habits" she reminded him, slightly screaming, as she stared him down with blue raging eyes.

"Uh…" was all he could manage.

Was he really that stupid? How could he so quickly forget their eating habits? They should be forever implanted in his memory. Not in all his years had he met two other women that could last through four thanksgiving dinners and still be hungry. Of coarse this iron stomach gene, as Luke called it, would be past down to Lori.

"Oh yeah, I must have forgot." he answered once he found his voice.

She rolled her eyes and stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets as she huffed passed him, leaving him standing in the middle of the street.

Jess watched her go, feeling like a compete ass.

How was it possible he forgot something that was such a big part of Rory's personality, he must have had a brain malfunction for those few moments. It must have appeared to his daughter that he didn't care about her mother at all.

_Which is not true at all_. He told himself, _she's always been on your mind, even when you didn't want her to be. _

Jess was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of Lori's voice coming from her retreating form.

"Are you coming or not? I need money to pay for the food and besides, you're going to become a pancake in a few seconds if you keep standing there; Kirk's not going to wait much longer" She told her father rudely, not bothering to stop and turn around.

Jess glanced behind him and saw Kirk sitting in his mother's car at the wheel, honking the horn; how he missed that when he was in his trance was unknown to him. The thing was louder then Luke snoring, which was saying a lot.

"All right, all right, I'm going, calm your damn hormones." Jess shouted to Kirk who ceased the honking and gave him an exasperated look through the windshield.

He stared walking in the direction of Luke's again, where his daughter had disappeared into.

Jess was stopped by a person who walked in front of him, almost causing the two to collide.

"Hey watch were your going!" he shouted to person.

"Hello Jess." Said the figure; who was towering over him, Jess froze.

He knew that voice; it was one he couldn't easily forget.

Shaking his head Jess glanced up at the guy "You gotta be kidding me." He said with a bitter laugh, looking back down to the ground.

"What are you doing back here?" the man asked, "She doesn't want you here."

"How would you know what she wants? Do you sit in a tree out side her house twenty-four-seven with night vision goggles?" Jess asked as he brushed past him and continued on his way, he was not in the mood for this.

"Why are you away walking Jess?" the man asked and Jess could hear foot steps following him.

"I have to be somewhere, and if you don't mind, I prefer to talk to people with a slightly higher IQ then your own" he said over his shoulder.

The guy quickened his pace and stepped in front of Jess again, causing him to stop.

"Stop it." He told the man; tone slightly irritated.

"What's the matter Jess?" The person asked, towering over him again.

"I'm not going to fight you, Dean." He said, knowing that this town was too small and the news of the fight would reach Rory before he even had a chance to explain. Then he'll be chased out of town with pitchforks and torches.

"Why not, afraid you'll lose?" Dean taunted, staring down at Jess.

"Nope." He answered in his famous monosyllabic tone, trying to walk pasted again, only to have Dean block his path.

Jess clenched his jaw and balled his fists that were inside the pockets of his jacket, it took every fiber of his being not to haul off and slug the guy right in his nose.

"She's got a nice little hold on you, doesn't she? Is that why you came back, to win her over again? She doesn't want you, Jess, the only reason she is tolerating you is because of Lori. If it was my kid-"Jess cut him off.

"Hey! You leave Lori out of this she is of no concern to you. That is between Rory and me, okay?" He never wanted to here his daughter's name come out of this guys mouth again, something about the way he said it made Jess feel like he needed to protect Lori.

"She is a concern to me, and to this whole town. Where you there when she said her first words in Luke's? No you weren't, but I was. How about when she was six and twisted her ankle running down the street, who do you think carried her to Rory's house?" Dean asked him.

"Luke." Jess answered with a knowing small smile on his face.

"Wrong, it was me." Dean said triumphantly.

"No it wasn't, and I know that for a fact, Lori told me Luke did because she fell right in front of the diner." He told Dean mater-of-factly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Um… well…" Dean stuttered.

"I guess that puts a damper on your little lie, huh Forester?" Jess said as he brushed pasted Dean, finally making it around, seeing as Dean was frozen in his spot.

"See you later Farmer John!" he shouted over his shoulder to Dean as he made his way to Luke's.

-In the Diner-

Jess walked through the door and heard the familiar bell ring about his head and made his way over to the counter were his daughter was talking to Luke and eating a sandwich with fries.

"What took you so long?" Lori asked, still sounding a little tick off over the incident in the street.

"I ran into someone I knew." Jess said not looking at her, instead, looking at Luke who questioned him silently with a raised eye brow.

"Oh really? Who?" the young girl asked, picking her coffee cup up and bringing it to his lips.

"No one you would know." Jess told her and got up from his seat, moving behind the counter to help as Luke walked upstairs into the apartment.

"I would too know them! I know everyone in Stars Hollow." Lori told him rather loudly; she glared at Jess who was wiping down the counter.

"Ok then let me rephrase that: no one you would want to know." He said while moving out from behind the counter and walking around to refill Miss Patty's coffee cup and shooting her a warning look.

"You're no fun." Lori said pouting at him and crossing her arms.

"It's part of my charm." He tells her with a small smirk.

Just then the bell above the door rang, signaling someone entering. Jess glanced from the cup of coffee he was pouring for Andrew and froze.

"You gotta be kidding me." He said shaking his head as he walked over to where Dean was standing in the doorway.

"We weren't finished, Jess." He told the smaller man as Jess set down the coffee pot.

"Oh I think we were." Jess said lamely.

By now Lori had turned around on her stool, seeing Dean, she froze. Her heart thumped against her chest, hands sweating and face going pale.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lori asked Dean as she slid off her seat but did not attempt to move any closer to the two men standing in the middle of the diner.

"Lori…I…I didn't know that you would be in here." Dean stuttered looking around the diner nervously checking to make sure Patty and Babette weren't sitting somewhere. They were.

"Get out! Get out of here now!" she screamed at him but he didn't budge from his spot and Jess looked between the two of them obviously lost. "Or I will be forced to call the police and don't think I won't. And I were you I would leave now before Luke comes down here and beats your sorry ass." Lori threatened him.

She was on the verge of crying and Jess could tell. He wasn't one hundred percent sure about what Dean had done to get Lori so freaked out about him being here but he wasn't about to sit back and let this guy mentally destroy his daughter; she looked in pain.

"I think it's time you leave Forester." Jess said as he opened the door and all but threw Dean out.

He slammed the door behind him and turned to Lori who now had tears streaming down her face. She ran over to Jess and buried her head in his chest while sobbing into his shirt.

Jess was still confused on what exactly had just happened but he put his arm around his daughter anyway and steered her towards the stairs.

Lifting the curtain he tried to get her up the stairs but she wouldn't unlatch herself from his shirt. Sighing he bent down and scooped her legs out from under her and carried her bridal style up the stairs as she sniffled into his now tear soaked shirt.

Once he reached the door he kicked it with is foot trying to get his Uncle's attention seeing as he couldn't turn the knob with her in his arms.

Luke then appeared at the door and looked down at the Lori in Jess's arms, "What happened is she alright?" Luke asked franticly as Jess walked passed him and into the apartment making a path straight for his bed and set her down on it.

Lori still refused to let go of his shirt and did not lift her head from his chest. He draped his right arm over her back and pulled her into a tight protective embrace.

"Jess what happened?" Luke questioned again worry over taking his voice. He loved this little girl more then himself just like he did Rory when she was growing up.

"I was walking over to the diner to meet Lori and I ran into Dean-" Jess was cut off by Lori whimpering upon hearing his name and held on tighter.

"What!? He's back! Did he see her?" Luke asked at he pointed to the girl hunched over in Jess's arms.

"Umm… yeah he followed me into the diner after I refused to fight him. Lori saw him and started screaming at him, next thing I know I'm pushing him out the door and Lori's running into my arms. What was that about? I'm assuming that there is a story behind all of this." Jess told Luke looking at him from where he stood above them.

"It's not my story to tell." Luke said looking down and Lori specifically, Jess followed his gaze.

Lori remained silent her face still buried in his shirt. "I don't want to make her do that, to see her in that much pain again." He said sadly to Luke, it would kill him to see her that depressed again, it physically hurt him and he had to resist the urge to leave and go kick the crap out of Dean, and he didn't even know what caused this outburst.

"I'll tell you." Came a small weak voice from the figure in Jess's arms.

"You don't have to if you don't want to Lori, I'm not going to force you to do that." He told his daughter in a soothing voice while rubbing her back.

"No." she sniffled "I want to, you're my father you deserve to know about my life." She told him as he stared into her pink puffy eyes and tear stained face.

"Are you sure Lor?" he asked her he really didn't want to force her and he wasn't even sure he wanted to know because if it was something really bad he didn't know if he could be able to contain himself from killing Dean.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She said while nodding her head and her black hair bobbed with it.

"I'm going to down and help pit Caesar; he's probably losing his mind down there alone." Luke said wanting to give them some privacy.

"Okay." Jess and Lori said together, Jess's eyes never moved from Lori's face and her eyes never left the bedspread.

Once Luke left they sat in silence for a few moments until Lori began.

_Here goes everything_; she thought to her self as she aloud the horrible memory to take over her mind as she told her story to her Dad.

-- --

Thank you all so much for the reviews!

Tell me what you think of this chapter, tell me if it sucked, which I'm pretty sure it did.


	11. I Hate Him

Okay so I am so, so, so sorry that I haven't updated in forever but I've been very busy and haven't had the time.

Disclaimer: Gilmore does not belong to me; again, I wish it did. But alas, I do not.

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_Last Time:_

_Here goes everything_; she thought to her self as she allowed the horrible memory to take over her mind as she told her story to her Dad.

Lori took a deep breath and let it out to prepare herself for the pain she knew was coming.

"My mom used to date Dean." She told Jess as he sat his on old bed facing her.

"I know that, they dated when we were younger, before you were born." Jess said to Lori.

"If you want me to tell you you're going to have to promise not to interrupt, this is going to be hard enough as it is, Jess." She said to her father, shooting him a slightly annoyed look.

"Sorry, I won't talk anymore, I promise." He said, holding up his right hand and looking embarrassed that he interrupted.

"Okay, so as I was saying, mom used to date Dean. When I was seven and they broke up when I was nine." Lori told Jess, not looking him in the eyes, but just staring blankly at the bedspread. She seemed to be in a whole other world.

"She was happy, I mean, really happy, and so was I. I loved Dean, he was really nice to me and Gram loved him as well, which was rare. Gram is very… protective of mom." She told him, choosing her words carefully and smirking slightly at the mention of Lorelai.

_Yeah, I know that from experience_. Jess said to himself and flinching when she said that she had loved Dean. He never took his eyes off Lori though.

"But one night… all the changed." Lori said, any traces of a smirk that had been there were erased from her face, and terror shown covered her beautiful features.

Jess wasn't sure if he should stop her, he didn't want her to cry like that again and he didn't want to cause her pain. Although on the other hand he really wanted to know what happened to so could beat Dean's ass and know what he was beating him for. So he just stayed silent.

"He hadn't been the same; he was always getting drunk in the last few weeks of their relationship. Dean was gone out to the bar that night, where he had been spending a lot of his time recently. Mom and I were home alone because Gram was at Uncle Luke's; I was in my room reading when I heard the front door open around twelve thirty in the morning. I tried to get back to my book but I couldn't. He didn't usually come over that late, and something had felt off to me that night, I was tense from the second I heard the creek of the door." Lori told Jess, her little fists gripped the bed sheets in fear.

All Jess wanted to do was pull her into a hug but he was afraid if he touched her she would react and be pulled out of her trance like state and wouldn't tell him what happened. Although he even know if he could take hearing what happened.

Lori went on with her story. "I heard mom ask him "Dean, what are you doing here?" then he said, "I came here to see you baby." But he was slurring, obviously drunk. He must have grabbed her wrists like he liked to do when he wanted to start "something." She pushed him way and said, "What are you doing? Lori's right in the next room." Mom's voice had been shaky. Then… I heard it. A loud smash followed a thump of mom hitting the floor." Lori said, she had stated to shake and her blue eyes were watering.

Jess flashes briefly back to his own childhood. Nights filled with his mother and her drunken boyfriends getting it on and then they would beat her and then leave. They were all the same. Jess was sick of it. He even had a few scars from where the boyfriends had taken a beating on him. He was pulled out of his trance from his daughter's voice.

"I was so scared; I didn't know what to do. Then I heard him say, "You bitch, don't you ever deny me again!" I then heard more thumping and I ran out of my room to see that bag of filth beating the shit out of my mother. I did the first thing that came to my mind, I called Luke's." Lori didn't even sound like she was talking to Jess anymore. It was like she was there, that night, all over again.

"I grabbed the phone, Dean hadn't seen me yet; he was too focused on mom. When Luke picked up I stared screaming whatever would come out of my terrified mouth. It went something like, "Luke, come quick! Mom, Dean, he's hitting her!" then I dropped the phone as I was lifted into the air by two hands."

Lori looked even more terrified then before, if that was even possible. Jess was breathing in and out deeply trying to stop himself from charging out of the room and killing Dean.

"I started screaming and kicked until I felt his hand collide with my stomach. I remember all the air being forced out of my tiny lunges. The scum bag then looked me right in the eyes and said "That was a really bad mistake; you're a bastard, just like your father. You ruined my fun little Lori, now I'm going to ruin you." I remember his breath was thick with the scent of alcohol. I couldn't stop from crying as he dropped me and used me as a kick ball."

Lori was sobbing uncontrollably more and Jess had tears of anger and fear for his daughter in his coffee colored eyes.

"I felt someone pull him away from me and I heard my grandmother talking to my mother, telling her it would be okay and to just hang in there. I could hear the sirens of police cars coming around the corner as I blacked out."

Lori put her head on her father's shoulder and Jess rapped his arms around Lori and pulled her close.

"I woke up in a hospital room with Luke leaning over my bed. Looking to my left I saw Gram sitting next to a bed that contained my mother, holding her hand, and looking scared."

Jess continued to be silent and allowed the tears that have been threatening to fall finally from his eyes. He felt completely awful that someone did something like that to his daughter and he wasn't even there to protect her.

Then there was Rory, the woman he is still in love with after all these years. The thought of someone touching her in anyway that was even slightly less then kind repulsed him. He loved them both with everything he had.

Lori started talking again after she had recovered a little. "I remember Luke telling me that Dean had been sent to court and was on trail for assault and facing a five year sentence but mom's lawyer was trying for more. I came remember thinking that life in prison wouldn't have been enough for that monster. He told me that mom had been bleeding pretty bad when they found her but that she was going to be okay."

She broke down into sobs again and Jess kissed the top of her head and rocked her back and forth. He broke his promise and started whispering softly to her. "It's okay Lori, I'm here; I won't let anything like that ever happen to you again. You or your mother."

Sniffling, Lori continued, as though his words didn't affect her at all. "When we finally got out of the hospital four long days later we were both sent to a psychiatrist twice a week by the doctors. There was always lots of crying at these meeting. Mom and I have been fine for about a year, and now he's back!"

"I told you, I won't let him get close enough to ever touch you again, Lori, he's not going to hurt you ever again." Jess told his daughter who had just told him the biggest secret of her life. He told himself that late he was going to go find Dean and tell him that if he ever came around Jess wouldn't hastate to kill him.

There was no reason to go off and kill him that day, he still had to remember that he was trying to win Lori over and he didn't want to piss her or Rory off. Although he wasn't sure if they would be pissed or thankful if he killed Dean for them. Jess will never know how Luke refrained from taking a baseball bat to Dean's head that night.

"How do you know?!" Lori spat at him. "You can't be with me and Mom every second of every day." This was followed by another heart wrenching sob from Lori.

"If that's what it takes I'll do it. I love you and your mother." Jess froze just realizing what he said, hoping his daughter didn't catch it.

She didn't and even if she did, she didn't show it. "I hate him Dad! I hate him more than I've ever hated anyone." She told him, letting herself slip up and call him Dad instead of just Jess.

Even though she was angry and probably didn't know what she was saying, it still felt amazing to Jess when she called him Dad. Something he could have never imagined feeling in a million years. Something in him struck a cord and he had the strongest urge to protect her.

Jess took his daughter's face in his hands, looked her straight in the eyes and told her, "Listen to me, Lorelai Gilmore, for as long as I live I will never let bad anything happen to you ever again. Okay?"

"Okay." Lori said giving him a half hearted smile and throwing herself into his arms, burying her head in his chest.

"I love you too Jess." She told him, giving him a tight squeeze.

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Again I'm so so so so so sorry I haven't updated in over five months!

Please don't hate me!!

But reviews are very much appreciated!!

Tell me what you think.


	12. Repressing Things

Disclaimer: Alas! Gilmore Girls is not mine. If it had been, there would have been much more Lit for everyone sane to enjoy.

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After her little episode, Jess dropped Lori's sleeping form off at Rory's house. It had been such a long hard day on the kid so instead of waking her up when his car pulled into the driveway; Jess carried his daughter up the stairs.

Rory was sitting in the living room reading when Jess came in holding her—_their_ daughter.

Instinct taking over upon seeing Lori, Rory shot up and ran over to where Jess was walking in to lay Lori down on the couch.

"What the hell happened? Is she okay?" Rory asked Jess franticly.

Jess gave her a solemn look, "She's fine, she cried herself to sleep. She told me Ror, she told me everything that sick bastard did to the two of you, how could you not tell me Rory?"

"Well you haven't exactly been here for that long, first off." She said with a slightly irritated tone. "And second, do you really think I enjoy thinking about it?" She told him angrily. "I couldn't protect her Jess." She whispered; a silent lone tear ran down her face.

"It's a mother's job to protect her child and couldn't even do that!" She exclaimed, bursting into tears again and ran into his chest.

He was a bit overwhelmed at first, having her that close, but he pushed that aside and pulled her into his arms. He didn't know what to say though, he didn't really have a lot of experience; all he knew was that he hated seeing her cry. So he said the only thing he could think of, "I'm sorry", and he pulled her closer to him.

"You shouldn't be, it isn't your fault Dean is a complete ass whole." She said, wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her hand and untangled herself from his arms, much to his silent rejection.

"But if I had been there… if I hadn't left like the dick I was, you would have never gone back to him, the situation would have never happened in the first place." He told her in a stern whisper, eyes blazing at her.

_It's entirely my fault, I couldn't protect my girls._

"Don't say that Jess." She told him, glancing quickly at Lori's sleeping form; she grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door to the porch so as to not disturb their angel.

"I'm starting to see now…" She told him quietly, even though they were out of ear shot from Lori. "That I was an idiot, an idiot for not calling you ten years ago when I found out about her, but like I said before… I didn't want her to get hurt." He started to say something but she put up a hand to stop him, she had to say this. "But I'm starting to see something now that I repressed for many years, not wanting it to be true."

She held her breath, not wanting to say it.

Jess didn't know if the pause was for her benefit or if she wanted some sort of sign that he was listening. He decided he wasn't going to let her choose.

"Repress what exactly?" he asked softly her, almost afraid of the answer.

Rory didn't know if it was cool night time breeze that was drifting on to the porch, their close proximity, or the too familiar tone of his voice that made her shiver, but either way, Jess shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

She looked up at him, ocean blue meeting coffee brown. He gave her an enquiring look with a slight tilt of his head.

Taking a deep breath, her eyes never leaving his, she told him, "Repress the thought that maybe I didn't call you because I was afraid that maybe you wouldn't want me. That maybe you had already moved on and I was just a small chapter in your complex web of a life." He shook his head in disbelief and looked away from her as she continued with her spiel.

"I wasn't thinking of her in the beginning, the little bundle of life growing inside of me. I was thinking of only myself. I thought that because you had hurt me, the only thing I could do was to hurt you back, by keep possibly the most life changing secret from you. I knew it wasn't fair to my--_our_ child but back then… I was stupid and young. If I could take it all back I think I would, well… I wouldn't take Lori back." She took his chin in her small fingers and forced him to look at her.

"I discovered a long time ago that she wasn't a punishment." Rory finished in a breathless whisper, looking deeply into his eyes.

Neither of them had any idea of how their conversation went from talking about how much of an ass Dean was to her confessing her biggest secret, something not even Lorelai knew.

"Ror-" Jess started to say something but he was cut off when a pair of headlights shinned in both their faces, making her drop her hand from his chin where it was still placed in order to shield her eyes.

"Mom's home." Rory stated quickly; he could hear panic in her voice, this made his lips turn up into a smirk and his eyes roll around in a circle.

"Rory, calm down." He told her soothingly, "It's not like we're teenagers that are going to get caught doing something. Besides what's the worst the can happen? You get pregnant with my child…" He said, his voice thick and husky "oops… too late I guess." A trademark smirk on his face the whole time.

This made Rory giggle and slap his chest. "You're terrible, you know that?"

"Just part of my charm." He told her cockily; then he winked at her and turned to start down the porch. "Night Ror." He said loud enough for only her, his voice like honey, his back still turned to her.

"Wait your jacket!" Rory shouted, taking it off and handing it to him, almost forgetting she had been wearing it.

"It's a short walk to Luke's. I'll be fine for the night." He told her before continuing down the steps, hands in his pockets without pausing, the smirk growing on his lips.

"Night Lorelai!" Jess shouted, startling her and making her jump as he walked past where she was sitting in her Jeep.

She turned to stick her head out the car window and watched in the light from a Stars Hollow street lamp as him stepped off her lawn onto the sidewalk with her eyes squinted.

"We weren't done talking Mariono!" Lorelai heard her daughter shout from the unlit porch. She really had to remember to tell Luke to fix that light, it made snooping very difficult.

"I know!" she heard the hooligan shout from somewhere behind her on the street.

"And when do you suppose we finish!?" Rory called once more from her spot. She couldn't believe she was acting like his around him; it was like she was seventeen again, she was beginning to feel like foolish Juliet, calling to her Romeo from afar.

"I was thinking tomorrow at Luke's, I can't go that far, you've got my kid Gilmore!" Jess shouted one last time, he might have sounded farther away to Lorelai, but he was still very close to Rory's heart, unintentional or not, that's where he was.

And Jess knew it was true, the fact that he wasn't going anywhere. Everything he could have possibly wanted in life was right here, laid out in front of him like a game. If he played his cards right… he might actually end up winning this one.

Rory, meanwhile, sighed to herself on the porch, but shook her head shortly after trying to clear her clouded thoughts.

She heard a car door shut in the darkness and her mother's footsteps walking up the stairs, they got closer until they stopped and Lorelai stood next to her daughter.

"Please, be careful this time Rory." Was all she said with a sad voice before turning and entering the house, leaving the door open behind her with light shinning through on Rory.

Rory couldn't help but notice how her mother's voice sounded, so… desperate. Although she was probably just as worried for Rory as Rory was for herself, maybe even more.

This time however she knew. It wasn't the same, I wasn't just her that would get hurt, she had to think about Lori.

This wasn't just another one of her boyfriends she would bring home so Lori could tell her what she hated about him. No. This was very, very different. It was Lori's father, if things worked out right they would finally be a family she always wanted for her daughter.

But the question was…

Did she want it for herself?

Sighing once again, Rory turned and went through the open door into her warm house where she could see her daughter was still sleeping and her mother was sitting with Lori's head in her lap.

Listening to the conversation, Rory guessed it was Luke on the phone.

She was happy for her mother, she finally got her fairy tale ending and she deserved it.

But Rory deserve her own?

A fairy tale ending that her mother, father and she never got to have?

She knew Lori did, hell, even Jess did, after everything she put him through.

But did she?

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So? How was it?

Too sappy?

Please review, they are love, even the bad ones.


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